Johann Josef Gabriel Netzer (18 March 1808 in

Zams Zams is a municipality in the district of Landeck in the Austrian state of Tyrol. Geography The Inn River runs through Zams, which is situated in the river's basin together with its neighbour town Landeck. The geographical location is . Here, th ...

– 28 May 1864 in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

) was an Austrian conductor and composer of early Romanticism.

Education

Josef Netzer was born into a musical family: already his grandfather Blasius Netzer (*1725 in

Pfunds Pfunds is a municipality in the district of Landeck in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 19.7 km south of the city of Landeck Landeck () is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck. Geography Landeck ...

, † 1785 in Bludenz) was an accomplished organist and well-known for his compositions. Josef received his first music lessons from his father Christian Netzer, a teacher and organist from

. Because his parents wanted him to become a priest, he was sent to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

to attend the "Gymnasium" (an academic highschool) at the age of 12. Alongside his school attendance he studied playing the piano at the Innsbrucker Musikverein with Martin Goller. After his graduation he settled in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to work with Johann Gänsbacher and

Simon Sechter Simon Sechter (11 October 1788 – 10 September 1867) was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer. He was one of the most prolific composers who ever lived, although his music is largely forgotten and he is now mainl ...

, the teacher of

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

. He also got acquainted with

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

in 1828. Netzer played some of his songs to Schubert and they also played piano duets.

Career

In 1838 Netzer debuted with his compositions in the Wiener Hoftheater. The concert was a huge success and he got the opportunity to present his second symphony in E-Major in another concert. Because of this accomplishments

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

printed his first songs "To the lute", "To the moon", "My luck" and "Hakon's song". In 1841 Netzer composed the opera "Mara", premiered at the "Wiener Hofoperntheater" (now

Wiener Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

) by the Hofopernorchester (now

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

). The premiere was Netzers breakthrough and "Mara" is nowadays his most famous opus. He worked as conductor in Vienna (

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

), Mainz, Leipzig and Graz ( Graz Opera), where he conducted the first performance of an opera by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Netzer, Josef 1808 births 1864 deaths Austrian conductors (music) Austrian composers 19th-century composers People from Zams